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Kickstarter has posted this week that the 'Exploding Kittens' campaign is now the most backed ever, and also the highest funded project in the games category.

The card game was created by Xbox game designers Elan Lee and Shane Small but the heavy hitter is artist Matthew Inman, who illustrates the extremely popular The Oatmeal comics.

When the campaign closed, 219,382 backers had pledged $8,782,571. The amount of backers was double the previous record holder, Reading Rainbow, and the funding was over $180,000 more than now second place Ouya, the Android set-top console.

How does the game that just raised $8 million work? You draw cards from the pile and if you get one that is exploding, you are dead. There are other cards that can be used to defuse the bomb and others that give you special abilities for the game. In all reality, the game is "a highly strategic kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette."

Google wants its failed Google Wallet service to be able to compete against the popular Apple Pay mobile payments system, and could be willing to pay for it.

The search giant is hoping to unveil a new version of the payment service at its developer conference later this year, one that will include partnerships with carriers, OEMs and more importantly, banks and payment networks.

To be able to make such an event happen, the WSJ suggests that Google will have to offer more revenue to each player involved.

The biggest problem, at this point, is the fact that there are dozens of Android manufacturers, and none of them necessarily have loyalty to Google outside of using the Android operating system. Many use their own user interface and have pre-loaded apps that benefit the company's own ecosystem.

Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone maker, is expected to release its own payment service next month after completing its acquisition of LoopPay. After investing hundreds of millions on such a service, there is little incentive to team up with Google Wallet.

Apple, which controls the software ecosystem and the hardware, does not have such problems. Apple Pay, after just months of release, now accounts for over 65 percent of all contact-less payments.

Samsung, who has spent the better part of the last two weeks posting teasers for their upcoming 'Unpacked' event has seemingly confirmed that its upcoming Galaxy S6 will indeed be metal, a step away from its plastic predecessors.

According to the teaser video, the device will be "beautiful, sleek and powerful," (but really what else could they say) and will also be made of metal.

Additionally, consumers can expect the device to have an accurate color palette just like the Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge, which certainly seems reasonable and is a relief.

Samsung will officially unveil the device during its Unpacked event on March 1st during the Mobile World Congress event.

Check the teaser here:

Earlier this week it was revealed that Lenovo's consumer grade laptops have a serious security vulnerability via the Superfish software pre-installed by the manufacturer.

Lenovo responding to the criticism shortly after released an automatic removal tool and now Microsoft has joined the fight.

Microsoft has released an update to its Windows Defender software that will detect and remove the adware. The update was noted by a security professional Filippo Valsorda on Twitter today.

Superfish is a piece of software that adds adverts to your web browser. While the adverts are harmless – if annoying – the vulnerability in the program enabled hackers to launch a so called man-in-the-middle attack and potentially capture data from the victim's internet connection.k

You can check if you are affected by Superfish here.

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest tech news pieces of the week was the fact that Lenovo pre-installed Superfish, an adware program that could be easily exploited to give anyone unencrypted access to your PC if they are on the same Wi-Fi network.

Lenovo, who first did not take the threat seriously, was bombarded by criticism and has now released a tool to help users remove Superfish.

Says the company:

In addition to the manual removal instructions currently available online, we have released an automated tool to help users remove the software and certificate. That tool is here: http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product_security/superfish_uninstall
We are working with McAfee and Microsoft to have the Superfish software and certificate quarantined or removed using their industry-leading tools and technologies. These actions have already started and will automatically fix the vulnerability even for users who are not currently aware of the problem.

We ordered Superfish preloads to stop and had server connections shut down in January based on user complaints about the experience. However, we did not know about this potential security vulnerability until yesterday. Now we are focused on fixing it.

Since that time we have moved as swiftly and decisively as we can based on what we now know. While this issue in no way impacts our ThinkPads; any tablets, desktops or smartphones; or any enterprise server or storage device, we recognize that all Lenovo customers need to be informed. We apologize for causing these concerns among our users for any reason – and we are learning from experience and improve what we do and how we do it. We will continue to take steps to make removal of the software and underlying vulnerable certificates in question easy for customers so they can continue to use our products with the confidence that they expect and deserve.

Google has announced that their to-do-list/calendar/email app 'Inbox' is now available for the iPad and Android tablets.

Additionally, Inbox now supports Firefox and Safari in addition to Chrome. If you have the app, you can sign in at inbox.google.com.

A rundown of the highlights of Inbox:

• HIGHLIGHTS - Get the most important information without even opening the message. Check-in for flights, see shipping information for BUNDLES - Similar messages are bundled together so you can deal with them all at once. And get rid of them with one tap.

• HIGHLIGHTS - Get the most important information without even opening the message. Check-in for flights, see shipping information for purchases, and view photos from friends right up front.

• REMINDERS: More than mail, you can add Reminders so your inbox contains all the things you need to get back to.

• SNOOZE: Snooze emails and Reminders to come back when you are ready to deal with them: next week, when you get home, or whenever you choose.

• SEARCH: Inbox helps you find exactly what you're looking for-- from your upcoming flight to a friend's address-- without having to dig through messages.

Apple, who has allegedly had hundreds of engineers working on a car, would like to begin production on their electric vehicle by 2020, reads a new Bloomberg report.

If accurate, Apple's car could be ready to compete with Tesla and GM, both of which are fighting to bring the first electric car that can go over 200 miles per charge and cost less than $40,000, a major price point for consumers.

While Tesla has the leg up in the technology of the electric car world, Apple could very quickly catch up with the $178 billion in cash it is sitting on. The company has been hiring battery, car and robotics experts, and there are an expected 200 engineers working on the project now.

In fact, Apple has been so aggressive in hiring, that has been accused of "poaching" employees from battery maker A123 Systems and others like LG Chem, Samsung, Panasonic and Johnson Controls. Experienced car makers take about 5 to 7 years to bring a new concept and vehicle to market, says industry experts, but Apple has no experience in the space and is still trying to keep the same time frame.

Research firm Strategy Analytics has predicted today that the Sony PlayStation 4 will end up outselling the Microsoft Xbox One by over 30 million units during their respective lifetimes.

Over the next four years, the PS4 "is on path to reproduce the success of the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii." To replicate either of those consoles would be impressive given that they sold over 100 million systems during their time.

By 2019, Sony will have a global install base of 80 million PS4, says Strategy Analytics, crushing the Xbox One at 57 million.

The Wii U is already nearing its peak and will reach a 17 million install base by 2018 before reaching saturation.

"Despite reports to the contrary, the game console market is not dead," concluded Strategy Analytics senior analyst Eric Smith. "Core gamers have moved faster to this current generation than in any previous generation. The main difference in this generation is that casual gamers who bought a Wii are remaining largely on the side lines as free-to-play casual games and midcore games on tablets and smartphones have captured this segment of consumers."

Say what you will about their products or the company itself, but Apple's architectural designers do have a flair for the aesthetic.

Their latest store, in Hangzhou, China, takes minimalist to the next level.

The ceilings of the store are 50 feet high but there are no columns. The glass panels reach all the way from the floor to the ceiling and the entire second floor is free floating without suspension.

"Every aspect of the store has been optimized, minimized, and de-cluttered," say the architects at Foster + Partners.

See some pics here:

Microsoft is offering 100GB of free OneDrive storage to all Bing Rewards members with valid Microsoft email addresses.

The software giant offers 15GB of free storage just to start, similar to, if not more than services like Google, Amazon, Apple and Dropbox. OneDrive is built-in to Windows 8 and promises to automatically sync all your files without any hassle.

In an effort to get more consumers to try out OneDrive over rivals, Microsoft is offering 100GB of free storage for the next two years, as long as you sign up for Bing Rewards.

Whether or not you care to use OneDrive or not, the offer is hard to beat. 100GB free with no strings.

Head here to claim your free storage: Bing Rewards Dashboard. If you aren't a Bing Rewards member, it takes one click to do so once you are logged in.

Samsung announced yesterday that it would be acquiring LoopPay, the mobile payments service.

More specifically, LoopPay is a "mobile wallet solutions provider that turns existing magnetic stripe readers into secure, contactless receivers." Because it can do so, LoopPay's tech works in nearly all existing point-of-sale terminals meaning no added investment on the side of the merchants.

"This acquisition accelerates our vision to drive and lead innovation in the world of mobile commerce. Our goal has always been to build the smartest, most secure, user-friendly mobile wallet experience, and we are delighted to welcome LoopPay to take us closer to this goal," said JK Shin, President and Head of IT and Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics.

Samsung previously had an investment relationship with LoopPay, and those funds helped to build the tech.

"LoopPay is focused on delivering a digital wallet solution that is dependable for consumers around the world, one that provides more value from card issuers and the merchants that serve them," said Will Graylin, CEO of LoopPay. "We are excited to join the Samsung family to continue our goal of making smartphones trusted, secure smart wallets and unlock the limitless possibilities of mobile enabled commerce."

Rovio has announced the latest game from its third-party publishing division: Jolly Jam.

Jolly Jam is out for Android and iOS, and the game is a basic puzzle game with matching, similar to the ever popular Candy Crush. Players take on different levels and beat bosses by matching fruit. "Draw a box around jellies jam 'em and help Prince Jam save Jelly Kingdom in this fresh and fruity puzzler!" says the developer.

Rovio Stars is the publisher of the game, and Jolly Jam is their fourth release after Tiny Thief, Juice Cubes and Plunder Pirates. Parent Rovio helps the studios develop their games and then helps with distribution while taking a large cut of the revenue.

The Finnish casual gaming company has nearly 200 million monthly active players, so the ability to cross-sell is strong. Let's see if Jolly Jam can catch on like Angry Birds did.

Starting this weekend, ISP AT&T has announced it will match Google Fiber's speed and price in Kansas City.

Google Fiber costs just $70 a month and offers 1Gb/s download speeds, far and away the fastest operator in the nation that averages about 10Mb/s downloads.

AT&T is not the only ISP feeling Google's squeeze. Time Warner has quietly tripled their speeds in Kansas City without raising the price a cent. Small regional ISP Consolidated Communications has also begun offering a gigabit fiber service for $69.95.

Google Fiber is available in 3 regions now, with 4 more coming in the very near future and 5 other regions already announced.

Dear Google, New York desperately awaits your arrival.

Videolan has posted a changelog for the upcoming 3.0 version of the popular media playback software and among the changes is the addition of Chromecast support.

If the support stays when the final version is released, users will be able to play nearly all media files from VLC on the big screen through the $35 HDMI dongle.

The company has also said Chromecast support is headed to their VLC iOS and Android apps in the future but the iOS app remains on hiatus from the App Store as the company works out whatever conditions are keeping Apple from blocking it.

Read the full changelog here: Videolan Git

Sony CEO Kaz Hirai has said today that the company will look to boost its profits by 2500 percent by 2018 by focusing solely on their PlayStation and camera sensor divisions.

The new strategy will likely see Sony exit the TV and smartphone markets, where it has been effectively squeezed out of any profits by Samsung, Apple and smaller Chinese OEMs with razor thin margins.

"The strategy starting from the next business year will be about generating profit and investing for growth," Hirai said. For the failed TV and smartphone divisions, the company "will not rule out considering an exit strategy."

Over the past few years, Sony has tried to narrow its focus, but the profits have been slow to come. The company already spun off the TV business to its own separate entity and sold off its once popular PC division.

Additionally, entertainment will remain a focus for the company including streaming music.